Indian River commission approves Providence Pointe concept, developer hopes to begin construction in May

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — New York resort developer Joseph Barile, a Vero Beach resident, said Tuesday he hopes to start in May on construction turning a former sand mine into a luxury rental community northwest of 49th Street and 58th Avenue.

“We’re very excited about this,” he said. “This will be a valid alternative to homeownership.”

In a 5-0 vote, the County Commission approved the concept of Barile’s Providence Pointe project — a community of 481 homes and townhouses, a 57-room hotel, a new marketplace and a nesting bald eagle’s habitat — and rezoned the 186-acre area from part residential and agriculture to a planned development with a traditional neighborhood design.

“People put a lot of thought into this with its unique features,” Commissioner Tim Zorc said. “My hat’s off to them.”

Providence Point has been deemed the county’s first new large-scale project since the county began recovering from the seven-year housing slump.

Senior County Planner John McCoy has said a former owner ran a sand mine in the 1980s and 1990s where Providence Pointe would be built. The mining process left behind a 35-acre pit, filled with water.

Project manager Andrew Kennedy said the man-made lake would be the site of various recreational activities, such as rowing, kayaking or scuba diving.

Others seeking recreation could enjoy a 9-hole executive golf course, he said. Community residents also could visit restaurants, clothing stores or the movie theater, he said.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Peter O’Bryan, pointing to other developments just now being revived, said he couldn’t find anything in the project plans requiring Providence Pointe to be developed as a luxury resort.

“And if it’s not (required to be) a resort, it could just become another subdivision,” he said. “And there are all these other busted subdivisions in the county.”

He questioned why the county should approve a new subdivision before those that fell dormant in the housing slump can be revived.

Commissioner Bob Solari, however, said he has seen only one other subdivision proposal in five years — the dormant Liberty Park — and wished Barile luck.

Providence Pointe attorney Bruce Barkett said the development would be different from other subdivisions because of the high-end rentals.

“The plan is for mostly long-term rental, not fee simple ownership,” Barkett said. “But we don’t want to make that a condition (of approval) because it may change.”

County Planning Director Stan Boling said the project calls on Providence Pointe to pave parts of 49th Street, west of 58th Avenue, add a new signal there, and add lanes to 53rd Street to smooth out a sudden jog at 58th Avenue.